Born To Kill
by Lhinneill
Summary: You are a Sith. You were created for one thing: to kill. Based on an original character and set 500 years after Return of the Jedi.


A/N: Based on an original character and set 500 years after Return of the Jedi. Truen Calladann belongs to Lionchilde. Much thanks to Nerca Beyul for catching my stupid spelling mistakes. ;) Please let me know what you think!

* * *

_"You are a Sith. You were created for one thing: to kill." _

The voice of Ana's Master, the once great Lord of the Sith, Darth Tardin, rang in her ears.

"_You are my creation, and you will do as I command."_

She was very young, fresh from the cloning vats. Her body was that of a young adult, between twenty and thirty standard years old. Her mind, while cluttered with confusing memories of a life that was not hers, was that of a child. She understood the words of the Dark Lord, but not the meaning behind them.

What did it mean to kill?

She would learn quickly.

"_I am a Force shade - ghost, if you will," Tardin explained in his calm, composed manner. "You are a clone. A poor copy of a far greater creation. This is, however, but a minor setback." The Force ghost smiled then, reaching to brush her cheek, but his fingers passed through her. "You will be my weapon. With you, I will finally have my revenge."_

_Ana listened impassively, dark eyes following him as he paced the ornate floor. With a motion of his hand, he called for the man Ana had dubbed "Dark Man."_

_"This is Aris. You are to treat him with the respect you give me. He will instruct you in ways that I, in my current state, cannot."_

_Aris met her gaze. His eyes, unnaturally dark, glittered with an eerie golden light. _

_She blinked innocently, then looked back to her Master. She had just one question for him: "Who am I?"_

She would later understand that she was the clone of his former student, a young woman named Kianna Starflight. Ana had been grown for one purpose - to break the Dark Lady of the Sith. And once she had accomplished that, she could then end the woman's life. That was her single purpose.

Kill.

Three years after her creation, Ana eliminated Aris in a duel. His death marked the end of her training, and Tardin wasted no time assigning her a first mission.

"_An assassin aims for his victim's heart," _Tardin had said."_Lady Starflight's heart remains on Naboo. Find the girl, find Kianna's child. Kill her."_

Kill the girl.

A simple assignment - she wouldn't be on the verdant planet for more than a day.

But she underestimated the protective instinct of a mother.

Kianna Starflight, a former Jedi Master, now feared Dark Lady of the Sith and Empress of the New Empire - the titles meant nothing. Kianna Starflight loved her only child, and, as Ana learned, would do anything to keep the girl safe. Having never experienced a mother's love, Ana was caught unprepared.

* * *

As the equally matched pair toppled from the balcony, Ana's lightstaff slid from her grasp. It flipped off into the darkness of the night, leaving her unarmed save for the lightdagger holstered to her thigh.

Kianna hit the ground first. Ana twisted midair, drawing the Force around her to slow her descent, and landed on her feet. The assassin whirled to face the Dark Lady of the Sith, settling into a loose fighting stance. Kianna held her single carmine lightsaber in one hand, the blade angled towards the ground. Ana recognized elements of Vaapaad in the Dark Lady's stance.

Tardin had warned the assassin of her counterpart's power. Ana hadn't been trained in Vaapaad, the most unpredictable and potentially powerful form of lightsaber combat. She had, instead, mastered the firm and aggressive Djem So, the fifth of the seven basic forms.

It would be no easy battle. Ana's best option now was to escape with her life. She would return to finish the mission when the advantage of surprise was on her side.

"Who are you?" Kianna demanded.

Ana smiled slyly. "Search yourself, mi'lady. You know exactly who I am."

Kianna's eyes glinted like sharpened durasteel. "I know _what_ you are, and I know who sent you."

"Oh, do you now?" The conversation allowed Ana the time she needed to find her lightstaff in the darkness, and she stretched out through the current of the Force, calling the weapon to her outstretched palm. It landed in her palm with a soft smack, and she thumbed the activation stud.

"Yes," Kianna responded evenly. "I also know you can't win."

"Mmm. We'll see."

With that, Ana launched herself at the Dark Lady. Crimson met crimson, energy crackling audibly at the impact. Ana twisted away, then came back for another strike. Kianna blocked again. As Ana prepared to strike once more, the Dark Lady pivoted, her foot striking out at the assassin's midriff. Powered by the Force, the blow sent Ana staggering back.

Anger flooded Ana's senses. She channeled it through the Force, using her rage to give her power, and leapt towards Kianna. Lightsabers flashed. The Dark Lady blocked Ana's strike, then flicked her own blade through the assassin's lightsaber hilt. The weapon flipped from Ana's grasp, clattering to the ground where it flickered, then died.

"No one touches my daughter!" the Dark Lady hissed, drawing her blade back to strike.

Ana called her lightstaff to her, and it landed in her palm with a hard smack. When she pressed the activation stud, only one of the twin blades sputtered to life. The other end sparked, but remained inactive.

She didn't have time to inspect her weapon, though. Kianna lunged, slashing viscously at the assassin's throat. Left without time to block, Ana jerked back. Her reaction was too slow, and she felt the blade burn across her upper chest. Stifling a cry, she threw out her palm, propelling the Dark Lady back with a Force push. Then, drawing the on the power of the Force, she propelled herself up onto the balcony.

Brushing her fingers across the cauterized wound on her chest, Ana winced, shunting the pain away through the Force. She had no time for pain. Kianna followed Ana to the balcony, wasting no time before attacking. She had ignited her second lightsaber, and now drove the assassin back with a furious barrage of flashing crimson blades.

Ironically, it was the arrival of a Jedi Master that saved Ana's life. As he leapt to the balcony to join the Sith, both turned their weapons on him. He deflected the Dark Lady's instinctive slash, then faced Ana. His eyes bulged with shock, and he gasped.

"Hello," Ana smirked. She flicked her crimson blade towards his face, and he bent back to evade the blow. Then, to Ana's surprise, Kianna moved to block the assassin's blade with her own, saving the Jedi's life.

"Some Dark Lady you are," Ana mocked.

Kianna's eyes narrowed and she pressed Ana back against the railing, the brilliant red of her blade nearing the tender skin on the assassin's throat. "You've threatened my family."

"A Sith doesn't have family," Ana countered, fighting to keep the lightsaber at a safe distance.

"This one does," Kianna said through gritted teeth.

Ana grunted derisively. "You're weak. No wonder Tardin wants you dead."

Before Kianna could respond, Ana reached out to the Force, drawing it in around her. Then, she lunged forward, propelling Kianna back with a powerful Force push. "Later, Kia," she smirked, eyeing the bearded Jedi Master. "And you, _Master Jedi_."

Laughing, she flipped over the railing and disappeared into the darkness below.

* * *

Tardin's pale blue form waited for her on the landing platform. Ana dropped to one knee before him, head bowed. "I have failed, my Master."

He stood calmly, silent for a long moment. "So. Kianna had help."

"Yes, Lord. A Jedi."

The Force ghost sighed, brushing his fingers across his jaw. "Truen Calladann, no doubt. The bond between them is still strong, even after all she has done. I should have foreseen his intervention."

Ana remained silent, allowing her Master to muse aloud. One day she would be free of him, but for the present, she needed his guidance. _Soon, _she promised herself.

"What now, Master?" she questioned, her head still bowed.

"Now we wait, my apprentice. Kianna's strength is breaking - I can feel it." He laughed. "Yes... We'll have our revenge soon enough."


End file.
